Battle of Staten Island 1777
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 22 August 1777 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1777 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
| Era | Early modern (1500–1799) | derived from year |
| Location | United States | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | North America | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | American Revolutionary War | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | Kingdom of Great Britain | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 40.5763, -74.1448 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Staten Island was a failed raid by Continental Army troops under Major General John Sullivan against British forces on Staten Island on August 22, 1777, during the American Revolutionary War. After British Lieutenant General William Howe sailed with most of his army from New York City in July, Sullivan recognized that the British position on Staten Island was vulnerable, and planned an attack. He carried it out in spite of commanding general George Washington's request that Sullivan reinforce the main army with his troops as soon as possible to support Washington's planned Colonial assault on British-held Philadelphia.
Among its flaws the raid suffered from a shortage of boats to effect its retreat, costing it two companies, and one of its detachments was misled by its guide to the front of the British position rather than its rear. As a result, American losses of dead, wounded, and captured were each double or more those of the British, depriving Washington of some 180-300 men needed for his campaign. Although Sullivan was accused of mismanaging the raid, a generous court martial held later in 1777 exonerated him of all charges.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Staten Island (revision 1370589902), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Battle of Long Island 1776 · 17 km
- Battle of Paulus Hook 1779 · 17 km
- Battle of Connecticut Farms 1780 · 17 km
- Battle of Golden Hill 1770 · 19 km
- Battle of Punk Hill 1777 · 19 km
- Battle of Springfield 1780 · 20 km
Other battles of the American Revolutionary War
- Battle of Valcour Island 1776
- Battle of White Plains 1776
- Battle of the Rice Boats 1776
- Fortification of Dorchester Heights 1776
- Landing at Kip's Bay 1776
- Battle of Bennington 1777
- Battle of Bound Brook 1777
- Battle of Brandywine 1777
- Battle of Cooch's Bridge 1777
- Battle of Fort Anne 1777
All 190 battles of the American Revolutionary War →
Browse more: battles in United States · North America · Early modern battles